Lille were on the hunt for a second road win of the week and their long trip south almost got off to the perfect start when Gabriel Gudmundsson went on a mazy run and cut in from the wing, but he fired his shot straight at goalkeeper Radosław Majecki.
The visitors kept pressing and came closer still before the 15-minute mark; Hakon Arnar Haraldsson got to the byline and attempted to cut the ball back for Jonathan David, only for Vanderson to divert it towards his own goal and force Majecki to spare his blushes with a fingertip save.
However, complacency appeared to be setting in for Les Dogues midway through the opening period, as they gave their ball away in their own half three times in four minutes. Those turnovers resulted in chances for Wissam Ben Yedder, Denis Zakaria, and Takumi Minamino, with the Japanese sending a rasping 25-yard drive a whisker over Lucas Chevalier’s crossbar.
Minamino was the centre of attention again late in the half, linking up for a fine one-two with Maghnes Akliouche before going down in the box under the challenges of Benjamin Andre and Leny Yoro, only for the referee to wave away the Monaco penalty claims.
Just as they did in the first half, Lille produced an opportunity through Gudmundsson two minutes into the second half when Angel Gomes crossed from the left and the Swede clipped the post with his header.
Minamino and Akliouche causing Paulo Fonseca’s men problems was also a recurring theme – the former had an effort blocked and the latter forced Chevalier into a reflex save inside 10 minutes of the restart.
Another issue from the first 45 minutes that Lille did not resolve was giving the ball away in their half, and that is how they were punished after an hour. Ayyoub Bouaddi presented the ball to Youssouf Fofana, who drove forward and powered the ball through Yoro’s legs and into the bottom corner for his third goal of the campaign.
Chevalier spectacularly denied Ben Yedder to keep the margin at one goal before his teammates Remy Cabella and Edon Zhegrova were wasteful in the hunt for a late equaliser, as Monaco held on for just a second win in eight meetings over Lille, who miss the chance to overtake Stade Brestois and move into the UEFA Champions League places.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Youssouf Fofana (Monaco)
